Vapor generator for carburetors



Dec. 13, 1938. l D. H, CLEEM 2,140,071

VAPOR GENERATOR FOR CARBURETORS Filed May 20, 1937 a j '7E/f l) l/l I l l Patented Dec. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VAPOR GENERATOR FOR CARBURETORS Delphia H. CleempHallock, Minn. Application May 20, 1937, Serial No. 143,838

3 Claims.

This invention relates to carburetors and particularly to a vapor generator for use with carburetors.

The general object of the invention is to provide a vapor generator by which all of the liquid fuel before any admixture of air thereto will be vaporized by the generator before it is delivered to the venturi of the carbureton' the 'air necessary for combustion of this fuel being mixed with the dry vapor just before the fuel is admitted to the engine. In all other carburetors known to me, the liquid fuel and air are mixed together by spraying the fuel into an air current or jet and then the carburetor depends on the heat of the intake manifold or upon other means of like character to vaporize this mixture.

A further object is to provide a generator of this character which includes a metallic tube disposed entirely within the exhaust manifold o-f the engine, this tube having means at'one end for the inlet of liquid fuel and at the other end means for discharging the vaporized fuel, the tubular element having therein a helical metallic coil extending practically the full length of the tubular element and having within the coil a tubular perforated distributor.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is an elevation of a portion of an engine with the intake and exhaust manifolds, the exhaust manifold being broken away and showing my generator therein and its connections.

Fig. 2 is a section approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section of my inproved generator.

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated the intake and exhaust manifolds such as are used on the International Harvester tractor. This is, of course, purely illustrative as my invention is equally applicable to other forms of manifolds.

My vapor generator, as shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 4, includes a metallic tube I0 within which is disposed a metallic helix I I preferably of brass, which extends practically or nearly the entire length of the tube IIJ. The coils of this helix bear against the wall of the generating tube I0 so as to conduct heat from this wall into the interior of the tube I 0 and for a purpose to be later stated.

At its inlet end, the tube I0 is connected to a source of liquid fuel by means of the pipe I2 engaged with the end of the tube I0 as by means of (Cl. 12S-133) an elbow I3. pipe. Within which the check val The pipe I2 is preferably 1A, brass This pipe I2 leads toa valve chamber I4 is disposed a check valve. Between ve and the pipe I2 is a needle valve casing I5. From the opposite end of the tube II) leads a discharge tube I 6. Disposed within the tube I0 and supported by the coiled wire II in spaced relation to the tube IE) is an internal brass tube I'I having a flared end engaging with one end of the tuber IIJ and open at both ends.

Il is provided This tube with a plurality of spirally arranged perforations I8. 'Ihe tube I'I is shorter than the outer tube ID. The tube I'I is disposed within the coil II so that the liquid fuel is distributed more evenly along the generator, making the evaporation of the fuel steady and thereby making the motor run more smoothly and steadier while develop ing full power from the fuel.

It will be noted that the coils of the helix I I act as channels along which the vaporized fuel between the Inasmuch as formation, it

tube I'I and the tube IU will flow. the holes I8 are disposed in spiral will make no difference how the tube is inserted within the coil. There will always be just as many of the holes directed upward as downward and as many on one side as on the other.

The liquid fuel entering the tube I l being heavier, is drawn along the lower part of the tube I 'I lower set of h and seeps downward through the oles. As it passes through the lower holes, the fuel comes in contact with the coil and the outer tube I0.

and rises and The fuel is then vaporized passes back through the upper holes in the tube and as vapor passes down along the tube Il tothe outlet end thereof.

The interior tube I'l is shorter than the tube I so that any vapor left in back through around the coil that is not passed the holes in the tube may pass from the coil directly into the outlet end of the tube I Il without re striction. The length of this entire pipe line c leads to the valve chamber I4.

this pipe line ing tube Ill is In is a shut-off Valve D. The generatdisposed entirely within an exhaust manifold, one leg of which is designated E. The

opposite end pipe I2 is connected by a of the generator III from the inlet i pipe I6 to the Venturi end of the intake F of the engine. This intake F is ordinarily connected directly to the carburetor.

The intake F has a Venturi-form Vin Va small spray nozzle I6a so that the Vaporized fuel is sprayed into the inlet pipe and drawn by the suction of the engine into the inlet manifold in the usual manner. Also entering into .the

intake F inward of the Venturi-form portion f is,

a low speed jet H.

The exhaust manifold may be of any suitable type but as shown, this exhaust manifold has a medially disposed leg E" which extends down- -ward parallel tol the vertical leg of the inlet manifold and then extends at right' angles, as at E. The exhaust manifold also is shown'as having a vertical leg E which extends downward and intersects the leg E and the exhaust manifold is provided with a by-pass valve I for controlling heat regulations.

A carburetor having this .generator tube uses less fuel and burns without any smoke or soot for the reason that the fuel does not reach the carburetor jets until it has gone through the generator and has been fully vaporized, soY that it will readily mix with air. A carburetor provided with a generator of this character needs no pumps or any working parts except the usual butterfly valve which governs the engine speed. The fuel is drawn through the generator by the suction of air as the air passes the Venturi passage and is mixed with the right amount of air after the fuel has been vaporized by the action of the heat of the exhaust gases.

This generator is preferably placed in the hottest part of the exhaust manifold as the hotter the temperature surrounding the generator, the better it will operate. This generator becomes red-hot when the engine is running and this is true also of the coil inside the generating tube. I have found in actual practice that this interior coil Il more than doubles the vaporizing power of the generator, and that by using the interior tube l1, the liquid fuel is distributed more evenly along the generator, making the vaporization of the fuel steady. If this tube is taken out, I have found that the motor will alternately slow up and then race.

My carburetor under test has shown that by first vaporizing the raw or whole fuel before it is mixed with air reduces the consumption of fuel by from a 1/4 to a 1/3 and permits the use of any of the low-priced fuels and gives the same power as high octane gasoline does.

In starting an engine having my carburetor, valve D is first turned off to stop the motor." Then the valve a on the main fuel tank A is turned off, preventing the flow of fuel from the tank A from passing to the float chamber B. Then whatever fuel is within the float chamber Band the filter chamber C is allowed to drain out through' the" drain valve c. This leaves the carburetor drained dry of all fuel and ready for starting. Now to start the motor, fuel is allowed to flow from the auxiliary tank A', which lls the float chamber B and the filter C with gasoline or like fuel. The valve D is now turned on and this allows the gasoline from tank A to pass into the generator and up to the level of the top of jet H and the top of jet IGH. Then the cylinders are primed with gasoline and in actual practice it has been found that the motor will usually start on the first turnover. The motor is then left running until the generator is hot. Then the valve controlling iiow from the gasoline tank Al is turned off and the valve a turned on and the motor will operate on whatever kind of fuel is carried within the tank A.V It requires about five minutes to heat up the generator on gasoline in order to make the generator hot enough to vaporize the lower grades of fuel for which this particular generator is particularly designed.

While I have illustrated the application of my generator to a particular form of exhaust manifold, it is to be understood that this generator may be used in conjunction with any carburetor and with any engine having an exhaust manifold in which the generator may be placed.

What is claimed is:-

l. A vapor generator for internal combustion engines including a relatively thin-walled elongated metallic tube having an inlet pipe at one end and an outlet pipe at the other andhaving a metallic helix disposed within the tube, the coils of which touch the walls of the tube, the tube being adapted to be disposed Within the exhaust manifold of an engine, and an internal tube disposed within the helix and uniformly perforated, the internal tube being open at its opposite ends.

2. A vapor generator for internal combustion engines, including a relatively thin-walled elongated metallic tube having an inlet opening at one end and an outletopening at the'other, an internal tube disposed within the first-named tube and uniformly perforated, the internal tube being open at its opposite ends and receiving fuel from the inlet opening of the external tube, and means supporting the internal` tube at intervals within the external tube and centering it there-from.

3. A vapor generator for internal combustion engines, including a relatively thin-walled elongated metallic tube having an inlet opening at one end and an outlet opening at the other, an

internal tube disposed within the first-named tube and uniformly perforated, the internal tube being open at its opposite ends and receiving fuel from the inlet opening of the external tube, means supporting the internal tube at intervals Within the external tube and centering it therefrom, and heat conductive means sup-porting the interna] tube in spaced relation to the external tube, said centering means permitting the passage of vaporized fuel ejected through said perforations into the space between the external and internal tubes.

DELPHIA H. CLEEM. 

